Category: 7. Science

Egyptian physicist Kerolos Mousa played a role in a Harvard breakthrough using metasurfaces to control light at the photon level, which may pave the way for major advances in quantum technologies.

Kerolos Mousa, an Egyptian PhD student who hails from Minya, has contributed to a breakthrough in quantum physics at Harvard University, where a team of physicists developed a device capable of controlling the shape and path of individual photons with unprecedented precision.

The innovation is based on metasurface technology, engineered materials that can manipulate electromagnetic waves, and represents a major advancement in the way light is handled within miniature optical environments. Mousa led efforts to design the nanostructures critical to regulating photon behaviour.

The research, conducted at Harvard’s Applied Physics Lab and supported by leading US scientific institutions, was published in Nature, a top US science journal, and Science, a leading British publications. It was also featured on the university’s official channels.

The advancement is hoped to significantly impact fields such as quantum communication, quantum computing, and the development of next-generation smart optical devices.

New research by the University of Cambridge shows that the impact of deforestation for livestock farming on biodiversity is much greater than previously thought. The damage to nature is, on average 60% higher than previous local studies showed. Biodiversity offsets are often used worldwide, but the datasets used to calculate them paint too rosy a picture. This shows that the consequences of massive deforestation for beef, coffee, palm oil, and sugar are much more serious for unique plant and animal species than previously thought.

A closer look at the impact on biodiversity

The destruction of habitats in Colombia, a country rich in biodiversity, has led to significant losses of flora and fauna. A third of Colombia is covered by rainforest, home to thousands of unique plant and animal species, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. The transformation of these natural habitats into agricultural land, particularly for livestock farming, threatens the delicate balance of ecosystems. Researchers at the University of Cambridge emphasize that the actual damage to biodiversity is often underestimated, as studies tend to focus on local effects without taking into account the larger regional context.

Scale makes a difference

Traditionally, studies on biodiversity loss have focused on small, local areas, which gives an incomplete picture of the real impact. A recent study conducted in Colombia covered 971 bird species in 13 biogeographical regions and showed that biodiversity losses on a pan-Colombian scale are approximately 60% greater than local studies suggest. This is because local studies overlook the complexity of ecosystems and the interconnections between species. The findings demonstrate that it is crucial to consider the spatial structure and scale of ecosystems when assessing the impact of land use. The study reveals that six to seven biogeographical regions need to be sampled before estimates approach the pan-Colombian value for species with low, medium, and high sensitivity to habitat conversion.

Biological homogenization and reduced diversity

Land conversion erodes habitat complexity, reduces microclimate variability, and limits niche availability and dispersal potential in the remaining natural habitats. Habitat conversion results in biotic homogenization, with increasing compositional similarity between spatially distinct communities. This process of biotic homogenization, in which ecosystems become increasingly similar, reduces overall biodiversity and makes ecosystems more vulnerable to disturbances. The loss of biodiversity is not evenly distributed; regions with high beta diversity, i.e., a large variation in species between different locations, experience more than twice as severe local effects. This emphasizes the need to implement protection strategies that take into account the unique characteristics of different biogeographical regions.

The role of biodiversity offsetting

Biodiversity offsetting is used worldwide, whereby damage to nature in one area is compensated for by protecting or restoring nature elsewhere. However, the datasets currently used for this offsetting paint too rosy a picture of the actual situation. Current methods for biodiversity offsetting are often based on local studies and do not sufficiently take into account the spatial scale and complexity of ecosystems. This leads to an underestimation of the actual impact of land use changes and makes offsetting less effective. There is a need for better monitoring programs with embedded spatial structures and measurement methods tailored to the regional scale of policy relevance. Implementing effective protection across landscape-wide biogeographical variation, combining important area-based targets and measures aimed at maintaining system integrity, is crucial.

Implications for policy and consumers

The findings of the study have important implications for policymakers and consumers. Governments need to develop policies that take into account the spatial scale of biodiversity loss and prioritize the protection of intact ecosystems. Consumers can play a role by making more conscious choices about products that are produced in a sustainable manner and by supporting companies that are committed to biodiversity conservation. Consumers must be aware of the ecological costs of their consumption patterns and be willing to make changes to reduce their impact on nature. The researchers hope that their findings will lead to better policies and more conscious choices, both by governments and consumers, so that biodiversity protection can be addressed more effectively.

A look to the future

The challenges of biodiversity conservation require a multidisciplinary approach, bringing together science, policy, and public awareness. Future studies on biodiversity loss must consider the spatial scale and recognize the complexity of ecosystems and the interconnections between species. By better understanding the ecological costs of land-use changes, we can develop more effective strategies to protect biodiversity and create a more sustainable future. The study is dedicated to the many Colombian environmental leaders who have been murdered since fieldwork began in 2012, highlighting the urgency of the situation.

Did arachnids originate in the sea?

We’re used to seeing spiders, scorpions and other arachnids hiding in holes or crawling through branches and leaves. But on July 22, 2025, a team of scientists from the United States and the United Kingdom said arachnids likely evolved in the sea. The researchers analyzed an exquisitely preserved fossil of a now-extinct marine creature with an exoskeleton: Mollisonia symmetrica. Arachnids share a similar body structure with this fossil, but the key lies in their unique brain and nervous system.

The researchers published their study in the peer-reviewed journal Current Biology on July 22, 2025.

A challenging theory

Until now, the widely accepted belief has been that arachnids came from a common ancestor that lived on land. From this common ancestor, arachnids began to evolve and diversify. However, a new analysis of a magnificently preserved fossil of a marine animal challenges that idea. The study suggests that arachnids might have begun their evolution in the sea. Before this discovery, the previous fossil record suggested that arachnids lived and diversified exclusively on solid ground.

Marine arthropods such as Mollisonia symmetrica are sea creatures with exoskeletons. Mollisonia symmetrica lived half a billion years ago. Fortunately, a Mollisonia fossil from the Burgess Shale formation of the Canadian Rockies has remained almost intact all this time. It has allowed scientists to perform a detailed analysis of its body structure and the fossilized features of its brain and central nervous system.

Meanwhile, spiders and scorpions have existed for about 400 million years, undergoing relatively few changes. So researchers have been able to make precise comparisons between the fossil and various modern-day arachnids and other animals living on Earth today.

An unexpected discovery

Until now, scientists thought the extinct Mollisonia symmetrica represented an ancestral member of a specific group of arthropods known as chelicerates. These animals lived during the Cambrian Period (between 540 and 485 million years ago) and included the ancestors of today’s horseshoe crabs.

Physically, Mollisonia had a body divided into two parts. First, it had a rounded front carapace, or hard upper shell. And second, it had a segmented trunk ending in a tail-like structure. This body structure resembles that of a scorpion.

In addition, the front part of Mollisonia functioned like the head of a spider: it had organized nerves controlling its limbs. Its small brain also sent signals to a pair of fang-like claws. This structure supports the idea that it was closely related to arachnids.

But what surprised researchers most was discovering that the neural structures in Mollisonia’s fossilized brain were not organized like those of horseshoe crabs, a marine animal. Instead, they mirrored the arrangement found in modern spiders and their relatives.

Arachnids’ brains

Spiders have a distinct brain that sets them apart. Imagine the brains of crustaceans, insects, centipedes and horseshoe crabs, but inverted! That is, the rear part of the brain is in front, and vice versa. According to the lead author of the study and Regents Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Arizona, Nicholas Strausfeld:

It’s as if the Limulus-type brain [a genus of horseshoe crab] seen in Cambrian fossils, or the brains of ancestral and present days crustaceans and insects, have been flipped backwards, which is what we see in modern spiders.

How to be sure?

To carry out the study, Strausfeld spent quite some time at Harvard University’s Museum of Comparative Zoology, where the Mollisonia fossil is. There, he took dozens of photographs using different lighting angles, varying intensities, polarized light and magnifications.

The researchers need to rule out the possibility that the similarities between Mollisonia’s brain and that of spiders were due to convergent evolution. As in, that they didn’t evolve similar traits but separately, due to similar environmental situations. So co-author David Andrew – formerly a graduate student in Strausfeld’s lab and now at Lycoming College in Pennsylvania – conducted a statistical analysis. He compared 115 neural and anatomical traits across both extinct and living arthropods.

The results placed Mollisonia as a sister group to modern arachnids. This supports the hypothesis that this ancient creature belongs to the evolutionary lineage that gave rise to today’s spiders, scorpions, solifuges, vinegaroons and other arachnids. According to co-author Frank Hirth from King’s College London:

This is a major step in evolution, which appears to be exclusive to arachnids. Yet already in Mollisonia, we identified brain domains that correspond to living species with which we can predict the underlying genetic makeup that is common to all arthropods.

Unfortunately, other arthropods similar to Mollisonia are not preserved well enough for detailed analysis of their nervous systems. But if they shared the same unique brain structure, their descendants could have formed divergent land-dwelling lineages that now make up various branches of the arachnid tree of life.

Why an inverted brain?

According to co-author Frank Hirth of King’s College London, this discovery could represent a key step in evolution. Studies on modern spider brains suggest this inverted nervous system organization enables more direct connections between control centers and the circuits that execute movement. And this possibly explains the remarkable agility of spiders and other arachnids.

This design likely gives them stealth in hunting and speed in pursuit. And, in the case of spiders, it gives them refined coordination for spinning webs and capturing prey. Strausfeld explained:

The arachnid brain is unlike any other brain on this planet. And it suggests that its organization has something to do with computational speed and the control of motor actions.

The first creatures to colonize land were probably arthropods similar to millipedes – and possibly some insect ancestors – an evolutionary branch of crustaceans. He added:

We might imagine that a Mollisonia-like arachnid also became adapted to terrestrial life, making early insects and millipedes their daily diet.

Being able to fly gives you a serious advantage when you’re being pursued by a spider. Yet, despite their aerial mobility, insects are still caught in their millions in exquisite silken webs spun by spiders.

Bottom line: We think of spiders, scorpions and other arachnids as land creatures. But according to a new study, they might have originated in the sea.

Source: Cambrian origin of the arachnid brain

Via The University of Arizona

Read more: Spiders can smell using their legs! The secret revealed

Read more: Lifeform of the week: Scorpions

Scientists have achieved the lowest quantum computing error rate ever recorded — an important step in solving the fundamental challenges on the way to practical, utility-scale quantum computers.

In research published June 12 in the journal APS Physical Review Letters, the scientists demonstrated a quantum error rate of 0.000015%, which equates to one error per 6.7 million operations.

A team of astronomers from the University of Montreal has discovered a new potentially habitable exoplanet orbiting the red dwarf star L 98-59, 35 light-years from Earth. This discovery means there are now five confirmed planets in this solar system’s “temperate” or “habitable” zone, the region in a solar system where liquid water could exist on planets’ surfaces.

The newly discovered planet, called “L 98-59 f,” managed to evade previous observations because it doesn’t pass between Earth and its star when orbiting, known as “transiting.” Planets that transit their host stars are easier to spot, because the mini-eclipses they create when passing across the face of their star can be seen by telescopes.

The research announcing the planet’s discovery—which is awaiting publication in The Astronomical Journal—located the planet through subtle variations in its host star’s motion. Planets orbiting stars exert a gravitational pull on their host as they orbit, slightly moving their star’s position. These movements can reveal the presence of planets even when they cannot be seen.

The revealing movements of L 98-59 were picked up by two instruments specifically designed for planet hunting: the high-precision HARPS spectrograph, installed on the European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescope, and the ESPRESSO rocky exoplanet spectrograph, which is part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile.

Comparison of the positions of the five exoplanets of L 98-59 with the first three planets of our solar system, according to the amount of solar energy they receive. The fifth exoplanet receives, proportionally, the same energy as the Earth.Courtesy of O. Demangeon/European Southern Observatory

L 98-59 f stands out from the other planets in its solar system because it receives a similar amount of solar energy to Earth. According to the Montreal researchers, if it has a suitable atmosphere, it could be a temperate planet capable of retaining liquid water on its surface.

As well as allowing for the presence of liquid water, the habitable zone of a solar system is the region where, potentially, planetary conditions could allow for the development of life. Each star has its own habitable zone, determined by its type and the amount of energy it emits.

The L 98-59 star system is gradually gaining attention among astronomy enthusiasts. Each confirmed exoplanet is as intriguing as the rest, and all are in the habitable band. The planet closest to the star is half the mass of Venus but 85 percent the size of Earth. The second is almost 2.5 times more massive than our planet. The third may be 30 percent oceanic. Little is known about the fourth, except that it is also a “super-Earth”—a term used to describe planets larger than our own but smaller than the ice giants of our solar system.

For now, there isn’t an image of L 98-59 f. The next step will be to employ the advanced technology of the James Webb Space Telescope to try to capture a direct image of it.

“These results confirm L 98-59 as one of the most compelling nearby systems for exploring the diversity of rocky planets, and, eventually, searching for signs of life,” says a statement issued by the University of Montreal.

There is only one other known stellar system similar in complexity and number of exoplanets: TRAPPIST-1, which is 39 light-years from Earth. It is an ultracool dwarf star with at least seven rocky exoplanets, three of which are in the habitable region.

This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

air pressure: The force exerted by the weight of air molecules. 

Antarctica: A continent mostly covered in ice, which sits in the southernmost part of the world. 

arid: A description of dry areas of the world, where the climate brings too little rainfall or other precipitation to support much plant growth. 

asteroid: A rocky object in orbit around the sun. Most asteroids orbit in a region that falls between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Astronomers refer to this region as the asteroid belt. 

astronaut: Someone trained to travel into space for research and exploration. 

astrophysicist: A scientist who works in an area of astronomy that deals with understanding the physical nature of stars and other objects in space. 

atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon. 

cyanobacteria: A type of bacteria that can convert carbon dioxide into other molecules, including oxygen. 

engineer: A person who uses science and math to solve problems. As a verb, to engineer means to design a device, material or process that will solve some problem or unmet need. 

eruption: (in geoscience) The sudden bursting or spraying of hot material from deep inside a planet or moon and out through its surface. Volcanic eruptions on Earth usually send hot lava, hot gases or ash into the air and across surrounding land. In colder parts of the solar system, eruptions often involve liquid water spraying out through cracks in an icy crust. This happens on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn that is covered in ice. 

evaporate: To turn from liquid into vapor. 

fiction: (adj. fictional) An idea or a story that is made-up, not a depiction of real events. 

fluctuation: (v. fluctuate) Some type of change in a pattern or signal that varies at irregular intervals and often by amounts that are hard to predict. 

gene: (adj. genetic) A segment of DNA that codes, or holds instructions, for a cell’s production of a protein. Offspring inherit genes from their parents. Genes influence how an organism looks and behaves. 

gravity: The force that attracts anything with mass, or bulk, toward any other thing with mass. The more mass that something has, the greater its gravity. 

greenhouse: A light-filled structure, often with windows serving as walls and ceiling materials, in which plants are grown. It provides a controlled environment in which set amounts of water, humidity and nutrients can be applied — and pests can be prevented entry. 

greenhouse effect: The warming of Earth’s atmosphere due to the buildup of heat-trapping gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane. Scientists refer to these pollutants as greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect also can occur in smaller environments. For instance, when cars are left in the sun, the incoming sunlight turns to heat, becomes trapped inside and quickly can make the indoor temperature a health risk. 

greenhouse gas: A gas that contributes to the greenhouse effect by absorbing heat. Carbon dioxide is one example of a greenhouse gas. 

liquid: A material that flows freely but keeps a constant volume, like water or oil. 

Mars: The fourth planet from the sun, just one planet out from Earth. Like Earth, it has seasons and moisture. But its diameter is only about half as big as Earth’s. 

methane: A hydrocarbon with the chemical formula CH₄ (meaning there are four hydrogen atoms bound to one carbon atom). It’s a natural constituent of what’s known as natural gas. It’s also emitted by decomposing plant material in wetlands and is belched out by cows and other ruminant livestock. From a climate perspective, methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide is in trapping heat in Earth’s atmosphere, making it a very important greenhouse gas. 

microbe: Short for microorganism. A living thing that is too small to see with the unaided eye, including bacteria, some fungi and many other organisms such as amoebas. Most consist of a single cell. 

microbiology: The study of microorganisms, principally bacteria, fungi and viruses. Scientists who study microbes and the infections they can cause or ways that they can interact with their environment are known as microbiologists. 

mineral: Crystal-forming substances that make up rock, such as quartz, apatite or various carbonates. Most rocks contain several different minerals mish-mashed together. A mineral usually is solid and stable at room temperatures and has a specific formula, or recipe (with atoms occurring in certain proportions) and a specific crystalline structure (meaning that its atoms are organized in regular three-dimensional patterns). (in physiology) The same chemicals that are needed by the body to make and feed tissues to maintain health. 

muscle: A type of tissue used to produce movement by contracting its cells, known as muscle fibers. Muscle is rich in protein, which is why predatory species seek prey containing lots of this tissue. 

NASA: Short for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Created in 1958, this U.S. agency has become a leader in space research and in stimulating public interest in space exploration. It was through NASA that the United States sent people into orbit and ultimately to the moon. It also has sent research craft to study planets and other celestial objects in our solar system. 

nitrogen: A colorless, odorless and nonreactive gaseous element that forms about 78 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. Its scientific symbol is N. Nitrogen is released in the form of nitrogen oxides as fossil fuels burn. It comes in two stable forms. Both have 14 protons in the nucleus. But one has 14 neutrons in that nucleus; the other has 15. For that difference, they are known, respectively, as nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15 (or ¹⁴N and ¹⁵N). 

orbit: The curved path of a celestial object or spacecraft around a galaxy, star, planet or moon. One complete circuit around a celestial body. 

oxygen: A gas that makes up about 21 percent of Earth’s atmosphere. All animals and many microorganisms need oxygen to fuel their growth (and metabolism). 

perchlorate: This naturally occurring chemical is a potentially cancer-causing component of certain jet fuels, explosives and fertilizers. In animals, this pollutant can perturb levels of thyroid hormones. It also appears capable of acting like an androgen (a male sex hormone). 

photosynthesis: (verb: photosynthesize) The process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to produce foods from carbon dioxide and water. 

pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area. 

radiation: (in physics) One of the three major ways that energy is transferred. (The other two are conduction and convection.) In radiation, electromagnetic waves carry energy from one place to another. Unlike conduction and convection, which need material to help transfer the energy, radiation can transfer energy across empty space. 

Red Planet: A nickname for Mars. 

replicate: (in biology) To copy something. When viruses make new copies of themselves — essentially reproducing — this process is called replication. (in experimentation) To copy an earlier test or experiment — often an earlier test performed by someone else — and get the same general result. Replication depends upon repeating every step of a test, one by one. If a repeated experiment generates the same result as in earlier trials, scientists view this as verifying that the initial result is reliable. If results differ, the initial findings may fall into doubt. Generally, a scientific finding is not fully accepted as being real or true without replication. 

risk: The chance or mathematical likelihood that some bad thing might happen. For instance, exposure to radiation poses a risk of cancer. Or the hazard — or peril — itself. (For instance: Among cancer risks that the people faced were radiation and drinking water tainted with arsenic.) 

salt: A compound made by combining an acid with a base (in a reaction that also creates water). The ocean contains many different salts — collectively called “sea salt.” Common table salt is a made of sodium and chlorine. 

science fiction: A field of literary or filmed stories that take place against a backdrop of fantasy, usually based on speculations about how science and engineering will direct developments in the distant future. The plots in many of these stories focus on space travel, exaggerated changes attributed to evolution or life in (or on) alien worlds. 

solar: Having to do with the sun or the radiation it emits. It comes from sol, Latin for sun. 

solar system: The eight major planets and their moons in orbit around our sun, together with smaller bodies in the form of dwarf planets, asteroids, meteoroids and comets. 

star: The basic building block from which galaxies are made. Stars develop when gravity compacts clouds of gas. When they become hot enough, stars will emit light and sometimes other forms of electromagnetic radiation. The sun is our closest star. 

suffocate: To be unable to breathe, or to cause a person or other organism to be unable to breathe. 

technology: The application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes, especially in industry — or the devices, processes and systems that result from those efforts. 

toxic: Poisonous or able to harm or kill cells, tissues or whole organisms. The measure of risk posed by such a poison is its toxicity. 

Venus: The second planet out from the sun, it has a rocky core, just as Earth does. Venus lost most of its water long ago. The sun’s ultraviolet radiation broke apart those water molecules, allowing their hydrogen atoms to escape into space. Volcanoes on the planet’s surface spewed high levels of carbon dioxide, which built up in the planet’s atmosphere. Today the air pressure at the planet’s surface is 100 times greater than on Earth, and the atmosphere now keeps the surface of Venus a brutal 460° Celsius (860° Fahrenheit). 

volcano: A place on Earth’s crust that opens, allowing magma and gases to spew out from underground reservoirs of molten material. The magma rises through a system of pipes or channels, sometimes spending time in chambers where it bubbles with gas and undergoes chemical transformations. This plumbing system can become more complex over time. This can result in a change, over time, to the chemical composition of the lava as well. The surface around a volcano’s opening can grow into a mound or cone shape as successive eruptions send more lava onto the surface, where it cools into hard rock. 

water vapor: Water in its gaseous state, capable of being suspended in the air. 

A groundbreaking study from NYU Abu Dhabi has revealed that cosmic rays — high-energy particles from space — could provide the energy needed to support life beneath the surfaces of planets and moons in our solar system.

The research, published in the International Journal of Astrobiology, challenges long-standing beliefs that life requires sunlight or geothermal heat to survive.

Led by Dimitra Atri, principal investigator of the Space Exploration Laboratory at NYUAD’s Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS), the study shows that cosmic rays may not only be harmless in certain subsurface environments, but could actively fuel microscopic life.

The process, known as radiolysis, occurs when cosmic rays interact with water or ice underground, breaking water molecules and releasing electrons.

Read: MBRU scientists publish first Arab Pangenome Reference in major genomic breakthrough

Energy source for microorganisms

Some Earth bacteria use these electrons as an energy source, much like plants rely on sunlight.

Using advanced computer simulations, the team examined how much energy radiolysis could generate on Mars and on the icy moons Enceladus (Saturn) and Europa (Jupiter).

Enceladus showed the highest potential to support life, followed by Mars and Europa.

Research breakthrough

“This discovery changes the way we think about where life might exist,” said Atri. “Instead of looking only for warm planets with sunlight, we can now consider places that are cold and dark, as long as they have some water beneath the surface and are exposed to cosmic rays. Life might be able to survive in more places than we ever imagined.”

Radiolytic Habitable Zone

The study introduces the concept of the Radiolytic Habitable Zone — a new way of identifying potentially life-supporting environments not based on proximity to a star, but on the presence of subsurface water and exposure to cosmic radiation.

This expands the possibilities for habitable worlds beyond the traditional “Goldilocks Zone”, also known as the habitable zone. It is the region around a star where a planet’s temperature is suitable for liquid water to exist on its surface.

Redefining future space exploration

The findings provide critical direction for future space exploration. Rather than focusing solely on surface conditions, missions may begin targeting underground environments on Mars and icy moons, using instruments designed to detect the chemical energy generated by cosmic radiation.

The research opens exciting new frontiers in the search for extraterrestrial life, suggesting that even the darkest, coldest places in the solar system could harbor the necessary conditions for life to survive.